Blueberries
by Shade the Hero
Summary: AU: What if the Dart hit the other target? *spoiler warning* Go watch the movie first.


_Hello there. This is a first for me. I just got Zootopia yesterday out of pure curiosity. People kept saying it was good and the back of the movie said it was the best thing to come out of Disney in 20 years. That's a mighty big thing to boast considering all the great movies Disney has made in that time. Now, to make a long story short I'll tell you one thing about me and movies. I rarely ever cry. Only a handful of them have made me cry once and they were great movies. Zootopia made me cry_ _ **twice**_ _. That's unheard of._

 _ ***SPOILER ALERT***_

 _It was the scene with what happened in Nick's childhood and then it was the scene where Hopps was apologizing to Nick. That hit me right in the feels. Please, if you have not seen the movie yet then avoid this AU. If you have seen it then please enjoy!_

* * *

 _Blueberries_

"It's a shame, I really liked you," said the mayor as she pointed the dart at Judy.

"What are you gonna do?" Judy asked, fear poorly hidden in her voice. "Kill me?"

The mayor only laughed. "Kill you? No, but I am going to make sure you can't ruin my plans."

The small sheep turned the dart gun and aimed it at Nick. His eyes widened, knowing what would happen the moment he was hit.

"No!" Judy shouted as she looked at her friend fearful with worry.

"Alright," replied the mayor as she quickly turned the dart gun and shot Judy instead.

"Carrots," shouted Nick as she fell and curled in on herself. He then looked up at the mayor and growled. "I can still tell the police what happened! You hit the wrong target!"

"Did I? Hmm, I seem to recall that I'm wearing gloves, and you were the last one to touch both the case and the dart gun. The police will link your prints to the gun and not mine, making you the prime suspect. And I'm the mayor, and a prey animal. Who will the populace believe more; a small, friendly sheep or a sly, conniving fox? I think we both know the answer." With an evil chuckle she left, taking the evidence linking her to the crime with her. The sound of the closing door echoed in the quiet, deserted museum.

Nick looked back over to Judy who had begun reverting back to her primal instincts. He approached her slowly; both knowing and afraid that he would scare her.

"Come on Carrots, focus. I know you're still you in there."

Judy opened her eyes and sat up, but he could tell by her posture that it was too late. She was sitting on all fours just like her ancestors once did. Even more so, she lifted her hind foot to scratch behind her ear.

"Oh Hopps…" Nick looked down and shook his head.

Judy twitched her nose and rose onto her hind paws as her ears swiveled around, scanning the area. She caught the scent of a predator and turned only to see a fox. Her eyes widened and she backed away, hitting the wall and cornering herself.

Nick watched her and failed to hide the pain he felt at the sight. Knowing that she was terrified of him and yet not less than an hour ago she had hugged him, begging for his forgiveness and apologizing for being a dumb bunny.

"I'm so sorry Carrots. I should have pushed you out of the way." He got onto his knees and reached out a paw to her, but she only recoiled further away from him.

He pulled his hand back and closed his eyes in despair, unable to stop the tear that fell. He sniffed and caught a whiff of something. It was the blueberries in his pocket. Taking out the red cloth that he had tied them in, he took out a berry and offered it to her.

Judy flinched and Nick regretted scaring her further, but he had to try. He wasn't about to give up on her. Their eyes locked and he saw nothing but fear and terror. Still, he wasn't going to give up until she trusted him. He did the only thing he could. He closed his eyes and moved his hand closer to her.

She raised her ears slightly and twitched her nose as she inspected the small berry in his paw. He felt her nose and the breath brush the fur on his hand. He felt her take the berry. "If I could trade places with you, I would." He thought back to what she had accomplished. She had become the world's first bunny cop. She never let what she is get in the way of doing her job and she never let anything slow her down. Sure she was a rookie, but she was also a quick learner. She managed to hustle him after only one day. That took something special. She had everything going for her, but now it was all gone.

"Dumb…fox."

Nick's eyes shot open as he looked at Judy who had found the other berries and had eaten a fair few. When she realized the fox wasn't going to eat her she quickly sniffed out the other berries and ate them. Slowly she realized she could think more clearly and she became less afraid. She still sat like an ancient bunny, but she had regained that sparkle in her eye that Nick had come to admire.

"Carrots," he asked amazed.

"No, I think they're blueberries," she replied trying to sniff out more.

Nick couldn't help it, he laughed. "Tell you what, let's stop that crazy mayor's plan and I'll get you all the blueberries you could eat."

Judy smiled at him and offered him her paw, "Deal."

* * *

 _I don't know why, but I thought that Blueberries would be the antidote for the night howlers. They kept popping up throughout the movie and it just seemed like an interesting idea. This little one-shot only took me about 20 minutes to write up. I normally don't like spending such a short time on a story, short or not, but there may be more Zootopia stories from me later on, once I get farther with my other projects. :)_


End file.
